Exploring resilience and competitiveness of wine estates in Languedoc-Roussillon in the recent past: a multi-level perspective

Sterols are a class of the eukaryotic lipidome that is essential for the maintenance of the cell membrane integrity and their good functionality (Daum et al., 1998).

Se señalaron 28 parcelas, en la zona de D.O. Montilla-Moriles, repartidas por toda la superficie de viñedo, de ellas 12 se localizan en las Zonas de calidad Superior, en los términos municipales de Montilla

Climate change presents a significant challenge for actual viticulture. In this context, recovering minority grape varieties can be a crucial strategy to ensure resilience, particularly those capable of maintaining quality and aromatic complexity under water stress.

High concentration of sugars in grapes and alcohol in wines is one of the consequences of climate change on viticulture production in several wine-growing regions. In order to investigate the possibilities of adaptation of vineyard management practices aimed to reduce the accumulation of sugar during the maturation phase without reducing the accumulation of anthocyanins in grapes, a study with severe shoot trimming, shoot thinning, cluster thinning and date of harvest was conducted on Merlot variety in Istria region (Croatia), under the Mediterranean climate. Four factors which may affect grape maturation and its composition at harvest were investigated in a two-years experiment; severe shoot trimming applied at veraison when >80% of berries changed colour (in comparison to untreated control), shoot thinning (0 and 30%), cluster thinning (0 and 30%), and the date of harvest (early and standard harvest dates). Shoot thinning had no significant impact on berry composition, despite the obtained reduction in yield per vine. Lower Brix in grapes were obtained with earlier harvest date and if no cluster thinning was applied, although at the same time a reduction in the concentration of anthocyanins in berries was observed in these treatments. On the other hand, if severe shoot trimming was applied when >80% of berries changed colour, a reduction of Brix was obtained without a negative impact on berry anthocyanins concentration. We conclude that in cases when undesirably high sugar concentrations at harvest are expected, severe shoot trimming at 80% veraison may effectively be used in order to obtain moderate sugar concentration in berries together with the adequate phenolic composition.

A statistical model of sugar potential for Mourvèdre grapevine cultivar has been obtained using a group of 32 plots all around de south-east french mediterranean area.